National Constitution Article VII

Article Summary: Article VII of the National Constitution defines the process by which National Officers are nominated, elected, and installed, as well as the filling of vacancies on the National Council.

ARTICLE VII: ELECTION OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL

Section 1

Members of the National Council shall be elected by a majority vote of the voting members of the Grand Chapter at the regular meeting of the Grand Chapter for a term of two (2) years.

Section 2

A call for nominations shall be issued by the National Office at least onehundred and fifty (150) days prior to the Grand Chapter meeting at which the general elections shall be held and nomination application materials shall be made available to all Members. Nominations to National Council for general elections may be made by any Member in good standing and shall be held open until one-hundred and twenty (120)days prior to the Grand Chapter meeting at which general elections shall be held. At that time, nominations shall be closed and no further nomination applications or parts thereof shall be accepted.

Section 3

Elections of the National Council shall be conducted at a meeting of the Grand Chapter with quorum and during executive session. General and special elections for National Council shall be conducted according to the following procedure:

1. The candidate for each National Council position shall be given the opportunity to deliver a speech to the Grand Chapter. The order in which the candidates speak shall be determined by the drawing of lots. Immediately following each candidate’s speech, there shall be a period during which the candidate will answer questions posed by the Grand Chapter. During each candidate’s speech and the following period of questions, no other candidates for the National Council position shall be present.
2. After all of the candidates for each National Council position have been given the opportunity to speak and answer questions, the Grand Chapter shall enter a period of pro/con debate. The merits of each candidate shall be discussed in turn, in the order previously determined by the drawing of lots.
3. Following debate, a vote shall be conducted by ballot.
4. The Chair shall appoint Tellers of Election to collect and tally the votes. The Tellers of Election shall not be candidates for National Council or delegates or alternate delegates of the Grand Chapter. The Tellers of Election shall report the result of each vote to the Chair. The Chair shall announce the result of each vote.
5. In the event that no candidate for a National Council position has obtained a clear majority of the votes cast, a run-off vote shall be instituted. The two (2) candidates for the National Council position receiving the highest number of votes shall be placed on a new ballot, and a new vote shall be taken. This process shall be repeated until one (1) candidate receives a majority vote.
6. A candidate for a National Council position who receives the majority vote in an election shall be considered the officer-elect immediately following the announcement of the vote.

Section 4

Each officer-elect shall be installed by the Officer Installation Ceremony at the National Convention Awards Banquet during the same calendar year in which they were elected, and shall hold office until the officers’ successors are duly installed.

Section 5

Vacancies in the National Council, except in the case of the office of the National President, shall be filled by the following procedure:

1. If the vacancy occurs at least 90 days prior to the regularly scheduled meeting of the Grand Chapter, the National Council shall fill the vacancy by temporary appointment from within the eligible Membership of Phi Sigma Pi as prescribed in ARTICLE VI, Section 6. Appointees shall be installed by the Officer Installation Ceremony immediately upon accepting the appointment, and shall serve until the vacancy is filled by election at the next regular meeting of the Grand Chapter, and the appointee's successor is duly installed.
   1. If a general election for the vacant office is on the agenda for the next regular meeting of the Grand Chapter, the vacancy shall be filled by general election as prescribed in ARTICLE VII.
   2. If no general election for the vacant office is on the agenda for the next regular meeting of the Grand Chapter, a special election shall be held to fill the vacancy at the next regular meeting of the Grand Chapter. Nominations for the vacated National Council positions to be filled by special election shall be opened immediately upon the occurrence of the vacancy at which time a call for nominations shall be issued and nomination application materials shall be made available to all Members. Nominations shall remain open until sixty (60) days prior to the date of the Grand Chapter meeting at which the special election shall be held. At that time, nominations shall be closed and no further nomination applications or parts thereof shall be accepted.
   3. Special elections shall follow the election procedure outlined in ARTICLE VII, Section 3. The officer-elect shall be installed by the Officer Installation Ceremony immediately following the special election whenever possible, and shall serve the remainder of the term of office, until the officer's successor is duly installed.
2. If the vacancy occurs less than 90 days prior to the next regular meeting of the Grand Chapter and a general election for the vacant office is on the agenda, the vacancy shall be filled by general election as prescribed in ARTICLE VII.
3. If the vacancy occurs less than 90 days prior to the next regular meeting of the Grand Chapter and no general election for the vacant office is on the agenda, the National Council shall fill the vacancy by appointment from within the eligible Membership of Phi Sigma Pi as prescribed in ARTICLE VI, Section 6. Appointees shall be installed by the Officer Installation Ceremony immediately upon accepting the appointment, and shall serve the remainder of the term, and until the appointee's successor is duly installed.

Section 6

Vacancies in the office of the National President shall be filled from within the membership of the current National Council, by a majority vote of the National Council. The resulting vacancy shall be filled according to the procedure outlined in ARTICLE VII, Section 5.